Harder To Remember
by waywardrenegades
Summary: A one shot of what I think Haley's response would have been to Chris being back in town and asking her to work with him again, and what I think was going through her mind.


**Author's Note:  
>This one shot is just what I think Haley's response to Chris was when he came back into town in 2x05. Also, it's what I think was going through her mind when he shows up. I ship Naley like crazy but I always liked the drama that Chris Keller added to the "perfect couple". Feel free to read and review! It's always appreciated :) <strong>

_Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or its characters [except for Chris's middle name, which I made up]_

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><p>Haley stood in front of the rack and flipped through the CDs in front of her, not paying attention until she reached 'K', and found Chris's infuriatingly handsome face smiling back out at her.<p>

She rolled her eyes and picked it up, looking down at his little smug face before the CD was ripped from her hands and a smooth, husky voice was saying, "Want that autograph?"

Haley's head snapped up to see Chris Keller standing in front of her, smiling down at her, his million watt smile that he only whipped out when he wanted something or was about to say something that he knew would piss her off.

"God," she groaned, rolling her eyes.

"I knew you'd be happy to see me," he said as he circled around her, a smug smirk, identical to the one on the CD cover plastered to his face. "So, how's married life?"

"What're you doing here, Chris?" Haley asked, struggling to keep her voice steady.

She thought she'd left that world behind. The music, the tour, and Chris. Out of sight, out of mind. Or so she'd thought. Now here he was, standing in front of her with the same irresistibly charming smile and smooth talking ways that had gotten her to leave Tree Hill in the first place. He represented everything she'd left Nathan for, and now he was back.

"Truthfully, I was thinking…" he paused. "You and me should work together again."

Haley scoffed, positive that this was some sort of sick and cruel joke, "Are you kidding me?"

"Come on, you know Chris Keller…" he trailed off at the expression on her face and rolled his eyes and continued with a shrug of his shoulders. "Sorry. Haley, you and I made great music together. Remember?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed incredulously. "I remember exactly what happened. Do you?"

Chris rolled his eyes and dismissed her concerns with a cavalier flick of his wrist, "Yeah, so things weren't always easy. But if you just set that other crap aside…"

"That other crap was my _marriage_, Chris."

"Details, Haley," he paused before trying again. "Come on, me and you. Just the music. Whaddya say?"

"What do I say?" Haley asked, her venom leaking through her words, clipping off her vowels as she spoke. "Christopher Brandon Keller. You are absolutely deranged if you actually think that I would ever, in a million years, agree to work with you again."

"Haley…" he began protesting.

"No. Shut up and listen for five seconds. I sacrificed my marriage and my relationship with the man that I care about for the tour, for the music, and for you. If you think that I would ever, ever do that again, then you're certifiable. Now get the fuck out of my face, and don't ever come to me with that suggestion again."

Chris stared at her for a split second before nodding once and turning around to walk away from her.

She watched him leave, unable to put a name to what she was feeling. If he represented everything that she wanted from her dream, that dream was walking away from her, and she was just letting it. She loved Nathan, and she gave it all up to be with him but he didn't seem to want the same thing.

With Chris gone, she could at least convince herself that she'd made the right choice and she really wanted to fight for her marriage. But with Chris right in front of her, smiling at her, talking to her with the voice of an angel, she could feel her resolve weakening by the second.

With him back in town, the temptation to leave again, to let herself fall back in love with the music, to develop feelings for him again, it was right in front of her. And she couldn't have that. So if she needed to be a bitch to Chris Keller to save her marriage, then that was exactly what she was going to do. If she needed to give up her music for Nathan, she'd do that to.

Haley knew that Nathan was what she wanted, but Chris made it a little bit harder to remember.


End file.
